Building Blocks Help Children Learn

It has been more than 200 years since it was determined that wooden blocks aid the development of young children through the constructive open-ended play of building with blocks. Today, you can find building blocks made from wood, plastic or foam and in various shapes and colors.

While Building Blocks may not be as sophisticated as some toys you can find at the stores today, they are ideal for learning because they involve the child as a whole — the way they move their muscles, the way they discover how different objects feel in their hands, the way they think about spaces and shapes and how different blocks go together.

Building Blocks are also a good long term investment because children can continue to use them as they grow. Infants and toddlers enjoy simply touching and gripping the blocks. Two year olds may demonstrate their first attempts at building structures and show the early signs of imaginative play. Around the age of three, children learn how to fit pieces together and build more complex structures. Four year olds begin to recognize designs and patterns and their structures become works on art. In kindergarten and early primary grades, blocks allow children to recreate structures they see in everyday life.

Never underestimate the power of these simple building blocks. Here are just some of the benefits of these classic toys:

Social Benefits- Blocks encourage children to make friends and cooperate while playing in groups.

Intellectual Benefits- Blocks can potentially help develop children’s vocabularies as they learn to describe sizes and shapes. They may enhance their math skills through the process of adding, subtracting or grouping blocks together.

Creative Benefits – Children receive creative stimulation by making their own designs with blocks.

Little Tikes is proud to offer our own building blocks called Wee Waffle® Blocks, which are plastic blocks that interlock so children can create anything their growing minds can imagine. Our classic set is just $17.99 and comes with 36 blocks and a convenient bucket for storage. And if you’re looking for savings, we also offer a special 5 pack of these Wee Waffle® Blocks (180 pieces in all) at a discounted price of $79.95! That’s a $10.00 savings!

Special thanks to the NAEYC and Wikipedia for some of this great information on building blocks.